I was really excited to make these Easter cookies, particularly the icing. I was determined to not buy any store-bought artificial food coloring, so I tested out a natural food "dye" that was safe and vegan....and came from a fruit. Using a bag of frozen, organic raspberries, I was able to create a beautiful, bright pink colored icing! Read on for this simple recipe...

Having fun making Easter cookies

Easter bunnies, chirping chicks, flowers in bloom, and....easter cookies! Holidays are always a fun excuse to make (and eat) cookies, so with the materials and ingredients in hand, my daughter Charlotte and I got started. Although I love my go-to delicious and easy-to-make sugar cookie recipe (from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar) that I use for Christmas Cookies, I decided to try out a new recipe. This is also a fun, kind alternative to coloring eastereggs. It's pretty simple and tasty, so here it is:Vegan Sugar CookiesIngredients:3Tbsp Ener-G egg replacer powder (you can get this in any health food store or online here)1/4c. warm water3 3/4c. flour2tsp baking powder1c. vegan butter1c. white granulated sugar1/4c vegan cream cheese (Tofutti is a good brand)1tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.1. Combine the Ener-G egg placer powder with the warm water, whisking until gooey. Set aside.2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the vegan butter and sugar using an electric hand mixer for 3-4 minutes, or until creamy and fluffy. Add the egg replacer mixture, vegan cream cheese and vanilla, beating until just combined. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating to form a stiff dough. Form the dough into two discs, wrap inplastic wrap, and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4" thickness (if it is a little hard and dry from the fridge, wait a few minutes). Using floured cookie cutters, cut out your cookie shapes, and place each on the prepared baking sheet about 1" apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.Yield: About 3 dozen cookiesNote: Don't let the "vegan" ingredients scare you off. The Ener-G egg replacer is available in most health food stores or online. Recipes call for such a small amount, that I've had the same box for more than a year. So skip the eggs, and buy a box and keep it on hand. The vegan cream cheese and vegan margarine are available in most mainstream stores nowadays, including Stop & Shop, C-Town, Key Foods, Price Chopper, Safeway, Albertson's, Publix, etc. and of course, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Here's Charlotte mixing up the ingredients....

...and licking the spoon (no salmonella worries because there are no eggs).

The next day we rolled out the dough and cut it into egg shapes...

Now for the best part....the ICING. Food coloring is bad news for many reasons...there's a lot of controversy surrounding its toxicity, and of course most aren't vegan. There arevegan alternatives availablesold in stores and online, but I was determined to find a fruit or vegetable (of any vegan food for that matter) that I could use to color my icing...and with the help of the internet and my professional baker friend, Sarah, I found one! I used raspberries and the icing came out perfect-- it was a beautiful, vibrant shade of pink. Raspberry Icing Recipe:1/2c. vegan butter10oz. bag of frozen raspberries (thawed)4c. powdered sugar1tsp. vanilla1-2Tbsp soy/rice/almond milk (if needed to thin it out)1) Boil raspberries on medium heat until thoroughly mixed into a sauce (about 4-5min). 2) Mix raspberries and butter in large bowl. 3) Add one cup of sugar at a time. Mixing in-between cup additions. 4) Add vanilla, and mix. If the icing is too thick at this point, add one to two tablespoons of soy milk to thin.

Boiled raspberries

Time for decorating the cookies with the raspberry-flavored icing and sprinkles...

Note: You can order organic, vegan sprinkles online. HOPPY Easter to all!